I didn’t just start thinking about my choices of what to do after I retired when I retired last May. I have been thinking about various choices I might make for over a year now. When I submitted my resignation and intent to retire last November, my quest began with an urgency only gained from the knowledge that it was now a REALITY!

Coming up with ideas wasn’t as easy as you might think partly because I live in a small town in a rural area. What was easy was coming up with a list of things I do NOT want to do! The list of things I didn’t want to do began growing by leaps and bounds. However, I slowly began to come up with some realistic ideas: have more time and freedom to visit family, work a parttime job in town (with flexible hours, of course!), do some substitute teaching (just some, not a lot), volunteer more at church, participate in a Mother to Mother Mentoring program, and employment as an online editor are just a few of the choices I am considering. As of this date, I have not “officially” made any decisions but some possibilities are beginning to take form and might just become a reality!

I have taken action on one of the items on that list — visit family more! Seven years ago on August 18, a granddaughter was born! One of our sons, his wife, and three children live a good distance away from us (it’s an 8 hour drive to get there). Because our granddaughter’s birthday was always on or right around the first day or two of school, we have never been able to go and help her celebrate on the actual day. This year was different because I am retired! We were able to go and be there on the actual day. In fact, her parents helped us surprise her — and WHAT a surprise it was when we met up with them at the restaurant she chose for her birthday dinner! We also surprised her with a new bicycle. I’ll only share a few photos with you today, so I don’t bore you to death!

Granddaughter, Kylee, gets a piano keyboard from her parents.

Surprise! A new bicycle!

Finally, the birthday party with friends complete with activities such as painting pictures on canvases, making bead bracelets, and decorating their own cupcakes (my DIL comes up with great party activities!). I think decorating their own cupcakes was the big hit of the day!

Well, that’s enough of the birthday pictures. Needless to say, my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed participating in our granddaughter’s birthday celebration. We look forward to being able to enjoy many more family celebrations such as this…thanks to my being RETIRED!!

Hey! I think this RETIREMENT thing is truly going to be a new road in my life that I will enjoy immensely!

I hope you will join me as I go down this road, not because I have an interesting life or I’m an eloquent writer. I am just an ordinary person living an ordinary life. I won’t guarantee my posts will always be interesting, funny, or entertaining (although I will try to make them so). I will guarantee that my posts will be varied: my retirement decisions, trips to visit family and friends as well as vacation trips, and everyday things such as old favorites and new recipes, crafts I might try, and other projects I might tackle.

I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what my next post will be about (just like I had NO idea what this post would be about until a few hours ago)! I’ll be just as surprised as you! So, until then……God Bless!